Intentional Presentation of Objects in Cooperatively Breeding Arabian Babblers (Turdoides squamiceps)
The emergence of intentional communication and the intentional presentation of objects have been highlighted as important steps in the ontogeny of cooperative communication in humans. Furthermore, intentional object presentation has been suggested as an extremely rare form of communication evolution...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2019-04-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fevo.2019.00087/full |
| _version_ | 1818345612411666432 |
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| author | Yitzchak Ben Mocha Yitzchak Ben Mocha Yitzchak Ben Mocha Simone Pika Simone Pika |
| author_facet | Yitzchak Ben Mocha Yitzchak Ben Mocha Yitzchak Ben Mocha Simone Pika Simone Pika |
| author_sort | Yitzchak Ben Mocha |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The emergence of intentional communication and the intentional presentation of objects have been highlighted as important steps in the ontogeny of cooperative communication in humans. Furthermore, intentional object presentation has been suggested as an extremely rare form of communication evolutionarily. Research on comparable means of communication in non-human species may therefore shed light on the selection pressures that acted upon components of human communication. However, the functions and cognitive mechanisms that underlie object presentation in animals are poorly understood. Here, we addressed these issues by investigating object presentations in wild, cooperative breeding Arabian babblers (Aves: Turdoides squamiceps). Our results showed that individuals presented objects to specific recipients. The recipients most often responded by approaching the signaler and the dyad then moveed jointly to copulate at a hidden location. We provide evidence that object presentations by Arabian babblers (i) do not represent a costly signal, as objects were not costly to acquire; (ii) were not used to trade food for sex, as the presentation of food was not more likely to result in copulation; and (iii) possessed hallmarks of first-order intentionality. These results show that intentional presentation of objects is not restricted to the primate linage and may suggest that the need to engage in cooperative interactions facilitates elaborate socio-cognitive performances. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-13T17:05:08Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-16148e91fcee40629f20e609b3854547 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2296-701X |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-13T17:05:08Z |
| publishDate | 2019-04-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution |
| spelling | doaj.art-16148e91fcee40629f20e609b38545472022-12-21T23:37:42ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution2296-701X2019-04-01710.3389/fevo.2019.00087410752Intentional Presentation of Objects in Cooperatively Breeding Arabian Babblers (Turdoides squamiceps)Yitzchak Ben Mocha0Yitzchak Ben Mocha1Yitzchak Ben Mocha2Simone Pika3Simone Pika4Research Group “Evolution of Communication”, Max Planck Institute for Ornithology, Seewiesen, GermanyDepartment of Primatology, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, GermanyCentre for the Advanced Study of Collective Behaviour, University of Konstanz, Konstanz, GermanyComparative BioCognition, Institute of Cognitive Science, University of Osnabrück, Osnabrück, GermanyCenter for Early Childhood Development and Education Research (CEDER), University of Osnabrück, Osnabrück, GermanyThe emergence of intentional communication and the intentional presentation of objects have been highlighted as important steps in the ontogeny of cooperative communication in humans. Furthermore, intentional object presentation has been suggested as an extremely rare form of communication evolutionarily. Research on comparable means of communication in non-human species may therefore shed light on the selection pressures that acted upon components of human communication. However, the functions and cognitive mechanisms that underlie object presentation in animals are poorly understood. Here, we addressed these issues by investigating object presentations in wild, cooperative breeding Arabian babblers (Aves: Turdoides squamiceps). Our results showed that individuals presented objects to specific recipients. The recipients most often responded by approaching the signaler and the dyad then moveed jointly to copulate at a hidden location. We provide evidence that object presentations by Arabian babblers (i) do not represent a costly signal, as objects were not costly to acquire; (ii) were not used to trade food for sex, as the presentation of food was not more likely to result in copulation; and (iii) possessed hallmarks of first-order intentionality. These results show that intentional presentation of objects is not restricted to the primate linage and may suggest that the need to engage in cooperative interactions facilitates elaborate socio-cognitive performances.https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fevo.2019.00087/fullArabian babblersgesturesintentional communicationmating behaviorobject presentationovert intentionality |
| spellingShingle | Yitzchak Ben Mocha Yitzchak Ben Mocha Yitzchak Ben Mocha Simone Pika Simone Pika Intentional Presentation of Objects in Cooperatively Breeding Arabian Babblers (Turdoides squamiceps) Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution Arabian babblers gestures intentional communication mating behavior object presentation overt intentionality |
| title | Intentional Presentation of Objects in Cooperatively Breeding Arabian Babblers (Turdoides squamiceps) |
| title_full | Intentional Presentation of Objects in Cooperatively Breeding Arabian Babblers (Turdoides squamiceps) |
| title_fullStr | Intentional Presentation of Objects in Cooperatively Breeding Arabian Babblers (Turdoides squamiceps) |
| title_full_unstemmed | Intentional Presentation of Objects in Cooperatively Breeding Arabian Babblers (Turdoides squamiceps) |
| title_short | Intentional Presentation of Objects in Cooperatively Breeding Arabian Babblers (Turdoides squamiceps) |
| title_sort | intentional presentation of objects in cooperatively breeding arabian babblers turdoides squamiceps |
| topic | Arabian babblers gestures intentional communication mating behavior object presentation overt intentionality |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fevo.2019.00087/full |
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